Home-School

You Must Not Covet

/ Jodie / Leave a comment

Romans 7:7-25

7 Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.”[a] 8 But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. 9 At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, 10 and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. 11 Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. 12 But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.

13 But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes.

14 So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. 15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[b] I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power[c] within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

To covet means to wish for something earnestly, to desire inordinately (with no reasonable limits, excessive). To want is not a bad thing, but when it creates a desperate desire in us to do whatever it takes to get what we want, then we cross the line into sin.

I’ve been known to jokingly say “I will not covet, I will not covet…” when visiting other peoples homes who have things on my dream list: a farm, a 5 bedroom house with a basement, huge kitchen, open family room, office, ministry room, screened in porch, a river/bold creek that runs through the yard, etc. etc. etc. In essence, I am trying to convince myself to not cross that line! From past experience, I know that when I see something I want (these are all wants, mind you, not needs) my mind will begin going down that road of “why can’t I have this?” If ignored, a want can quickly turn into desire, then coveting. Left unchecked, coveting will breed an ungrateful heart towards God because I am convinced (by the enemy) that He is failing to give me what I think I need.

Coveting, however is not just exclusive to material things. It can also greatly affect our relationships. Usually, it begins with a subtle thought:

“I wish my husband did all the chores around the house like her husband does.”

“I wish our kids behaved like the Duggars- they’re perfect!”

“I wish our family could be involved in every homeschool co-op and field trip like that family (meaning= I wish we had more $ so we could do everything I want)”

“I wish our church had more music during the worship service, or kids activities, outreaches, healing services, bible studies— fill in the blank, like so and so’s church.”

“I wish our ministry made as much money as that persons so we could do it full time.”

“WAAAA, WAAAA, WAAAAAA!”

1 Timothy 6:6-8

6 Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

Having lived through a season of unemployment with a family of 6 to sustain, I now understand the truth of this verse. All of the wants on my dream list paled in comparison to our needs for that year. Amazingly, God not only provided those (food and clothing)- He also supplied our wants for a home, electricity, water, sewer, gas, homeschool books, phones AND Netflix! Still, Gods miraculous provision during our time in the wilderness unfortunately didn’t make me immune to coveting. Hence, the reason why He highlighted these verses to me this morning. After a night of grumbling and complaining about some of the above mentioned, His word lovingly convicted me of my sin, re-focused my heart towards Him, and brought me back over to His side of the line where I belong.

Luke 12:24

24 Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds!

Thank you, Father for loving me and valuing me above all of your creation.

Thank you for giving me a husband who is a man after your own heart.

Thank you for giving me 4 precious children who desire to know you.

Thank you for equipping me to train and teach our children at home- and giving us the opportunity to go on several field trips each year.

Thank you for giving us a home, cars, furniture, electronics, kitchen gadgets…

Thank you for giving us a church family who loves, encourages and rebukes us, when needed.

Thank you for allowing us to share our life story with other married couples- and witness your amazing love radically transform the broken lives of your children.

You are a good God.

You are Jehovah- Jireh.

You are all that I need.

Order

/ Jodie / Leave a comment

1 Corinthians 14:33 New Living Translation (NLT)

33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people.

Spend any amount of time in our home and you’ll quickly see that the Bullard Pack lives in an orderly and organized environment (at least…most of the time!). From the time I was a little girl, I would frequently re-arrange my bedroom so that all of my belongings would stay organized in such a way that they could be easily accessed and used for their intended purpose. 30+ years later, I’m still doing the same thing. Except, now, I have 5 bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a school room & a ministry room to keep in order!

Over the years I have been praised for this gift and openly criticized for being too structured and rigid. Others comments have sometimes served to inflate my pride or make me feel ashamed, wanting to be different. But, when I look to God- not others, for my identity and the way He’s gifted me, I am able to use my abilities to worship Him and serve those whom I am called to love. Through studying God’s word, I’ve also seen that this gift is a reflection of Him, because He is a God of order!

When I discovered that a structured environment and strict routine was extremely helpful for our daughter, who was diagnosed with Autism, I knew that God made no mistake in choosing me to be her mother! I spent hours upon hours arranging her clothes, toys, chore cards, school, snack and meal schedule and extra-cirricular activities to help her be able to focus and be more productive (it also greatly reduced the amount of melt downs and violent outbursts of anger towards others that she randomly had). What I didn’t realize at the time was that the order and organization in our home would also greatly benefit me, Doug and our other 3 children. Years later, as I continue to re-arrange and discover new ways to bring order to our home I have discovered that we tend to function at our best when we have the following tools in place:

-a list of family “rules” (and consequences for disobedience)

-a family, school & ministry calendar

-a cirriculum, “recess,” snack, meal, electronics & bedtime schedule (specific for each child)

Using these tools has helped our children understand our expectations and be able to prepare themselves for what the family is doing or where we are going. Now, I realize that we can’t plan and organize for everything in life…we must be flexible enough to follow the voice of the Holy Spirit when He prompts us to move outside our box, but…when we know the direction we’re heading and what is required of us to get there, we can have peace on the journey.

Yesterday, I was somewhat shocked to hear our teenager (yes, our TEENager!) say she was ready to get back to our school schedule. Why?!? Because, after a few weeks of summer vacation with no schedule and freedom to do what they wanted, when they wanted, she discovered that freedom without boundaries isn’t really freedom. In fact, as I have slacked off on enforcing the “rules” (& consequences for breaking them), they’ve had more bad attitudes, sibling rivalries and episodes of disobedience.

What that makes me realize is our children thrive when they:

1)    know the “rules” & understand the consequences for disobedience (& are disciplined accordingly, when they break them)

2)   know their purpose and the purpose of our family (which is reflected in our schedules)

Conversely, when they are “free” to do whatever they feel like, chaos erupts.

Its not much different than the children of Israel. After years of whining, complaining, wandering in the wilderness and just doing stupid stuff, God intervened and gave them the 10 commandments.

God didn’t give them this list of “rules” to follow because He wanted to be a harsh taskmaster like Pharaoh. He gave them to His children out of love, so they would know how to be able to live a life of FREEDOM.

Have you ever paid attention to the order of the 10 commandments?

1st, God told His children how to love Him (explained in 1, 2, 3, 4).

2nd, God told His children how to love others (explained in 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). When asked which of the commandments was the greatest, Jesus confirmed the order:

Luke 10:27 New Living Translation (NLT)

…. “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

When we spend our days loving ourselves and refusing to follow God’s “rules,” we end up running amok through the wilderness, engaging in all kinds of stupidity, and living a life enslaved to chaos. But, when we love and submit ourselves to the Father and the order He has given us, we are FREE to live happily within the confines of His “rules” and we can have LIFE….to the full!

Last

/ Jodie / 1 Comment

Matthew 20:1-16 New Living Translation (NLT)

20 “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay the normal daily wage[a] and sent them out to work.

3 “At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. 4 So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day.

5 So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing. 6 “At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’7 “They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’“The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’8 “That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. 9 When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage. 10 When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage. 11 When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, 12 ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’

13 “He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? 14 Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. 15 Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’

16 “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

“That’s not FAIR!”

If you’ve raised children, or spent any time around them, you’ve probably heard that phrase exclaimed thousands of times.

From the time our children were young, Doug and I tried to be honest with them about life. When faced with a child’s sense of injustice, we would sympathize with how they were feeling, but follow it up with truth: “yep…life isn’t always fair (at least in the way YOU think it should be!)” This principle doesn’t just apply to the little people in this house though….it’s something I continue to struggle with too.

Injustice.

Jealousy.

Entitlement.

Years ago I was pretty focused on coveting my neighbors possessions. If they got new clothes, I deserved new clothes. If they bought a car, I deserved a car. If they went on a fancy smancy vacation I deserved one. If they had the latest electronic gadget, I deserved that too. Unfortunately, as I became a follower of Christ, my sense of entitlement didn’t magically disappear. Instead, it shifted to another realm of coveting: deserving the same “blessings” other Christians received. This attitude is a dangerous one because not only does it puff up my pride to enormous levels, it causes me to judge others wrongly and unfairly AND it questions the sovereignty and goodness of God.

“It’s not FAIR that…

-so and so got a big, new house and we have to keep repairing this old one!”

-I have to home-school my kids, cook, clean, be a taxi driver, clean the house, pay the bills while so and so gets a maid and can afford to hire a babysitter every week!”

-so and so gets free vacations and we have to save $ for 5 years to go somewhere!”

-so and so has all the gifts of the Spirit and I only have 3!”

-so and so’s church/ministry gets more attention than ours”

-I work all day and get paid as much as so and so -and they only worked an hour!”

When I fail to humbly come before my Savior with a heart of gratitude for His love, mercy and goodness I can easily fall prey to the lies of the enemy. The result of living in the kingdom of darkness is a life filled with judgement, entitlement, ungratefulness & pride……and in the Kingdom of Heaven, that will make me last.

Father,

Thank you for choosing me to be your daughter. Thank you for sending your perfect son to die in my place so that I could spend eternity with you. Thank you for the abundance of blessings you pour out on me every day: a loving husband, 4 extraordinary children, good friends, a supportive extended family, a beautiful home, fresh food to eat, cars that run, homeschool supplies, smart phones, computers, kitchen gadgets…….the list goes on and on. Thank you for filling me with your Spirit and loving me enough to discipline the areas of my heart that are not yet fully surrendered to you.

You are a kind, loving and just landowner.

Rest for my Soul

/ Jodie / 1 Comment

Matthew 11:25-30 New Living Translation (NLT)

25 At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. 26 Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!

27 “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Last night, as Doug and I walked around the track at the soccer field, I began reciting “The List” to him (“The List” is anything and everything having to do with our lives, our marriage, our children, the job and the ministry that needs decisions made or things done). He patiently listened and empathized with my struggle, but in the end he offered several points of wisdom and encouraged me to pray- and wait.

I don’t like to wait. I want an answer NOW, because when I have “The List” all checked off, I can rest!

This, however, I am learning, is not true rest.

On New Years Day 2012, the Lord gave me a vision of myself in a yoke with Jesus. I was leading…running ahead, straining myself, and I was completely exhausted trying to navigate the road ahead. Even more frustrating was trying to decide which road to take!

Almost immediately, I knew what God was trying to show me. I was failing to humble myself before the King of Kings and allow HIM to teach – and lead me. Instead, I was striving to do everything by myself. The consequences for my actions were heavy burdens, which did not belong to me, and a yoke that was impossible for me to carry.

This morning as I was praying, this same passage of scripture came to mind…and I was reminded of the vision.

“Surely, this must be for someone else, Lord….not ME again?!?” (flash back to last nights conversation with Doug…and how overwhelmed I was feeling).

Uh….yeah….it’s me.

Once again, as the demands of life have begun piling up, I’ve inadvertently started picking up burdens, which aren’t mine to carry, and the weight of answering & fulfilling the “The List” was beginning to crush the yoke around my neck:

-Doug hasn’t been paid for multiple weeks of consulting work….and the bills keep rolling in.

-Our oldest is starting High School in another year. How will I be able to teach her and ensure she meets all the requirements she needs for college?

-Our middle 2 daughters want to be involved in theatre, but lessons are costly and I want them to honor God in all that they do, without having to compromise their beliefs.

-Should I plan more play dates and extra-cirricular activities for our son (so he stops pestering his sisters)….or should Doug just take him outside every day and body slam him!?!

-We have a mound of paperwork and scheduling that needs to be done for the ministry… …when am I gonna be able to get it all done?!?

God promises that if I surrender myself to Jesus’ lead, within the yoke He designed for me, I will be able to pull the burdens He gives me to carry with ease. Even when the road ahead seems treacherous and difficult to maneuver, I can trust Him to lead me, and I will find rest for my soul.

Jesus beckoned me to come to Him again this morning…..and when I did, He lovingly showed me that I had not submitted “The List” to Him. Once I realized this, I repented for trying to carry the burden on my own- and not trusting Him to lead. The result was a miraculous and instantaneous one: my burden was lightened and my yoke was made easy.

After I rested in Him for a while, I began asking questions pertaining to “The List” and wouldn’t ya know it- He answered some of them immediately, and others, He said “wait….”  That’s exactly what the man who leads me- and our family- said last night! (there’s probably another lesson here that Jesus wants to teach me about trusting my husband, and following his lead, huh?!?).

Yes or No?

/ Jodie / 2 Comments

Matthew 1:18-24 New Living Translation (NLT)

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement[a] quietly.

20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,[b] for he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
    She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,[c]
    which means ‘God is with us.’”

24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.

 

When Joseph “considered” what to do about the embarrassing situation with Mary, I assume he didn’t ask God: “Do I marry her? Or do I call the whole thing off?” Hence the reason the Lord used another method to relay His will to Joseph..… disturbing his sleep! God answered the question that was never posed: Yes, Joseph…you should marry her. After hearing the message from an angel, Joseph changed his mind about Mary. Despite the possibility of being falsely judged for fathering a child out of wedlock or marrying a woman who appeared to have been unfaithful to her betrothed, Joseph chose to obey God. His actions proved that he was more concerned with pleasing God than pleasing others.

I still find myself struggling with this. Often times I don’t inquire for an answer from God before responding. When someone asks me to do this or that or tells me I should or need to do this or that, my natural reaction is to say “yes!” because I don’t want them to feel rejected. The result of my knee jerk, put my foot in mouth, lack of self control decisions usually leaves me feeling angry, over committed and overwhelmed. Almost immediately I experience “buyers remorse” and then try to find a way to manipulate the circumstances to be able to give an excuse and then say “no.” As a result of my disobedience and cover up, not only do I suffer, but so do the people whom I was trying not to hurt or offend.

Recently, God spoke to me (again) through a few wise women who reminded me that although I am supposed to love my neighbor- and serve them, my FIRST & greatest “yes” is to God. When I ask Him what to do (or not to do), He will give me the peace to say “no” without guilt and the tools necessary to say “yes” without feeling like my world is spinning out of control.

There is no decision too mundane or miniscule to ask Him about. He wants to be my constant companion- and helper for EVERYTHING in life!

God, how do you want me to respond to this request?

Lord, should Doug and I go on a week vacation next month?

Father, do I need to show grace to my child in this situation?

God, should I join this small group?

Lord, should I teach a home-school co-op class this semester?

Father, do I need to volunteer to serve on this team?

As God continues to bring revelation to the areas of my heart that are not yet fully surrendered to Him, I pray that I will have the faith and courage to do as Joseph did- despite what others may say. May my “yes” be His “yes” and my “no” be His “no.”

Root Bound

/ Jodie / Leave a comment

1 Timothy 6:10 New Living Translation (NLT)

10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

This morning, as I was banging the roots of my herb plants on the ground, struggling to separate & pull them apart for transplanting I was reminding of how many times I’ve made fun of my husband and friend who “hear from God” while they work in the garden. And then…I heard from God!

Roots. Bound roots. No longer producing life-giving plants- instead winding further and further into themselves, being held captive by the pot that contains them.

In many marriages, money is one of the top stressors in the relationship. Doug and I have not been immune to the damage the love of money can cause. As newlyweds, we lived the typical American lifestyle. DINK’s my dad called us: Double Income No Kids. We made pretty good money- but I still wanted more, so when my company began offering bonus incentives, I jumped at the chance to become one of the top earners. Still, our output was greater than our input and deeper and deeper we wound ourselves into debt.

Wanna new car? Sure- just get a car loan!

Wanna go to the mall for some retail therapy? Absolutely- just apply for a store card!

Wanna new surround sound system? Why not? We can take a little out of saving to pay for it!

Wanna take a vacation? No problem- they take credit cards there!

Wanna buy another round of drinks for our buddies at the bar? Start a tab- we can pay for it….later!

Wanna buy a new house to put all our “stuff” in? Just borrow some more money- this time, we don’t have to pay it back for 30 years!

Wanna buy some new furniture to fill up that new house? Take out another loan- 2 years, same as cash, no money down!

After all- we worked hard…didn’t we deserve all this?

We lived in this cycle of entitlement for far too many years. During that time we also engaged in far too many arguments about it and far too many blame games went on as well.

So what changed? We began obeying God in the area of our finances.

1)   We starting giving to the church (notice I said “giving”- not “tithing”…we had to work our way up to the 10%, then 10% of our gross income because we were concerned that we couldn’t live without all those Benjamin’s every month)

2)   Then came the tough part- at least for me….allowing God to show me that I wasn’t worshipping Him…but my “stuff.” I justified my wants as needs. So, in order to put things back in their proper order, we had to:

-sell our car

-stop taking trips to the mall

-stop going to the bars with our friends (really, they weren’t our “friends” anyhow…and eliminating all the drunken festivities not only eliminated some of our overspending…it also eliminated other kinds of evil that came along with it)

-take no more vacations (that weren’t saved for)

-stop “retail therapy” at Target or Bed Bath & Beyond…

-turn off cable TV (no more HGTV, TLC, Food Network!!)

-stop going out on costly date nights

-stop scheduling massages, manicures, pedicures….

-stop getting my hair colored!!!

For years this went on- especially after we went down to ONE income and 4 kids! These eliminations more often happened in my mind, before they went into action, as I struggled to compare myself with other families, and what I thought our kids would be doing “without.”

-no private preschool

-no elite sports teams or dance classes for the kids

-no professional photographers snapping pictures of our beautiful babies

-no shopping at the hoity toy tie stores in the mall for the latest fashions for our little ones

-no birthday party bashes at the skating rink, bowling alley, indoor play place….

At first glance, it looks like God wasn’t being very loving to us. But you have to look below the surface of the dirt and see that the roots that were once bound have been banged out and in their place, new, healthy roots have emerged…producing life-giving plants. The truth is, what God requires is always for our good. During our root banging process, He blessed us immensely. It wasn’t always through more money in the bank, though….instead, His blessings were:

-love for God

-joy in giving to others

-peace

-restoration of our marriage

-4 children born (w/ no medical debt)

-hand me down clothes

-plenty of food (including others having our family for a meal, or giving us leftovers/food from their garden)

-a home (this is the last debt we owe)

-3 cars (paid for)

-Curriculum & books for our homeschool

-recreational dance & sporting programs for our kids

-co-op classes

-dream vacations (paid for with cash)

-provision of every kind during a lay off, 1 year of unemployment & periods of no cash flow when contracts ended sooner than expected.

The list goes on and on….but the “things” are not as important as the ONE who gave them. We have all that we need- and God has graciously given us many of our wants. Our roots are no longer bound in darkness, sucking the life out of our lives…and our marriage. And that, my friend, is worth all the money in the world.

Distracted

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Luke 10:38-42 New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus Visits Martha and Mary

38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

I’ve heard teachings about Mary & Martha quite frankly, more than I’ve wanted to over the years…and each time I’ve come away ticked off! You see, I’m a doer. Always have been.

Since childhood, I’ve organized my dresser drawers by item and color and hung my clothes by seasons in my closet. My grandparents used to snicker at my “skills” when they came to visit and stay in my bedroom. When I got married, this “skill” was appreciated at first, but it quickly became a source of great contention between Doug and I. He was, how shall I say….more of a manly version of Mary. Except, instead of sitting at the feet of Jesus, he was sitting on the sofa in front of the tv watching college sports. That’s not to say that he didn’t do anything around the apartment- he did- but he certainly didn’t care how the sock drawer was arranged or if all the clutter was picked up and put away immediately. I was perfectly content playing the role of Martha…and occasionally reminding God that my husband should come help me!!! Then, we had our first child. After the 2nd one was born 18 months later, I was still able to take care of myself, my husband (or so I thought), 2 kids & the household…but then we suffered a miscarriage, I had emergency surgery and was confined to bed rest for a time. Needless to say- not everything got done according to MY specifications. I should have been getting the hint by then, don’t ya think? Uh….no.

We then had our 3rd child and from the moment of delivery (she was the only child born without any drugs administered to me!) I knew I was in for pain and suffering. We brought our bundle of joy home from the hospital and she screamed & vomited & failed to be comforted, or sleep for more than 4 months. The next few years of her life would bring about numerous Dr. visits and a diagnosis of autism. Then, if God didn’t get my attention with all that- He gave us a 4th child!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!

When morning sickness lasts all day and you vomit until you dry heave and go to bed, there isn’t much time or energy left to make sure the sock drawers of 6 people are neatly arranged- much less prepare a meal, do the laundry, nurse a baby, care for 3 children, change diapers, grocery shop, and have sex with your husband (yes, that IS important!).

What I finally realized over the years is that Jesus didn’t love Mary more than He did Martha. His Father had created them both with unique gifts and talents- in His image. The issue wasn’t that Martha was practicing her gift of hospitality, it was that she was distracted by what she was doing instead of focusing on why she was doing it. She also neglected to put first things first; making Jesus the priority.

The bible says we are supposed to do both; sit, rest, allow Jesus to pour into us….and do the work He’s called us to do- without being distracted by less important things, or complaining about it!

When the demands of life’s “to do’s” overwhelm and cause us to be angry, or blame others, we need to stop & sit at the feet of Jesus- and if necessary, repent. For He is the only One who brings life to the full and whom all of life’s details must flow out of…..